Orozco School: Building on Success - LISC Chicago

BUILDING ON SUCCESS 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy 

ISS Chicago Plan for <strong>School</strong> Transformation 

A partnership of <strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy, The Resurrection Project, Alivio Medical Center, Pilsen Neighbors 

Community Council, Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s and Local Initiatives Support Corporation/Chicago 

With major funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies 

and additional support from The Chicago Community Trust, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, 

and the Polk Bros. Foundation 

May 2008

This plan was created under a planning grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, which seeks to create a robust and 

replicable model for middle-school improvement. The plan is constructed around four principles, which together comprise 

the Chicago model of Integrated Services in <strong>School</strong>s: 

Principle 

1 

Learning time in schools must be 

extended through after-school, Saturday 

and summer programs; that extended-time 

content must be integrated with a strong 

core-school academic program; and out-of-school-time 

faculty, regular faculty and other staff should have 

significant shared training and planning opportunities. 

Principle 

2 

The highest quality of preventive, youth 

friendly and confidential health care 

must be provided on-site to middle-school 

students; and those health services must be 

embedded in broader programming that covers nutrition, 

fitness, prevention and reproductive education. 

Principle 

3 

Improved access to public benefits 

must be made available to parents of 

middle-school students; that access must 

be convenient; and it must be part of an array 

of social supports that ensure parents are providing the 

most stable base possible for their children. 

Principle 

4 

Parents, community members, local 

organizations, school faculty and 

students must be an integral part of 

planning, implementing and monitoring 

the transformation of the school. Community 

ownership helps ensure that the plans are realistic and 

appropriate for that particular school community, and it 

supports continuity and sustainability of programming 

beyond any one leader or group of stakeholders. 

1 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

The Chicago signature 

The first three principles flow directly from Atlantic’s model, 

which is already being implemented in the state of 

New Mexico. The fourth principle — that parent and 

community involvement are integral elements of school 

change — is based on LISC/Chicago’s experience supporting 

comprehensive community development over the past eight 

years. By engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders in both 

planning and implementation, LISC’s New Communities 

Program has shown strong promise of improving the quality 

of life for 16 Chicago communities. Embedding this approach 

into the Atlantic Philanthropies model will help transform 

schools and ensure that all students can succeed in their 

transition to high school, college and/or careers. 

The ISS-Chicago program builds on 15 years of schoolreform 

progress in the Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s. It is 

overseen by the Chicago Committee, which includes 

representatives of the following organizations: 

> The Chicago Community Trust 

> Chicago Department of Children and Youth 

> Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s 

> JP Morgan Chase Foundation 

> The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 

> Michael Reese Health Trust 

> Polk Brothers Foundation 

The program is coordinated by LISC/Chicago and includes 

participation of five lead agencies in LISC’s New Communities 

Program, a 10-year effort to implement comprehensive 

community development in 16 neighborhoods. Participating 

schools and neighborhoods are: 

> Ames Middle <strong>School</strong>/Logan Square Neighborhood 

Association 

> <strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy/The Resurrection Project 

(Pilsen) 

> Marquette Elementary/Southwest Organizing Project 

(Chicago Lawn) 

> Perspectives-Calumet Middle <strong>School</strong>/Greater Auburn- 

Gresham Development Corporation 

> Reavis Elementary/Quad Communities Development 

Corporation 

For more information, contact: 

Coralia Barraza 

Principal 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Elementary <strong>School</strong> 

1940 W. 18 th St. 

Chicago, IL 60608 

773-534-7215 

cbarraza@cps.k12.il.us 

Luis Bermudez 

ISS Manager 

The Resurrection Project (TRP) 

1818 S. Paulina Ave. 


312-666-1323 

lbermudez@resurrectionproject.org 

Chris Brown 

Director, Education Programs 

LISC/Chicago 

1 N. LaSalle St., 12th Floor 


312-385-4803 

cbrown@lisc.org 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy ISS Plan 

| 2

Intensive Planning Draws Broad 

Participation 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Academy and The Resurrection Project were chosen for participation in ISS-Chicago through a competitive 

process in early 2007. They represent one of five school-community partnerships seeking to create and demonstrate a 

new model of Integrated Services in <strong>School</strong>s (ISS). 

The <strong>Orozco</strong>/TRP partnership led a comprehensive planning process between February and May 2007. More than 50 

people participated in four initial visioning and goal-setting meetings followed by committee work and plan-writing 

meetings. The summary plan that follows is the result of their work. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> and TRP thank all who contributed. The list below was compiled from sign-in sheets and may not include all 

participants. Our apologies for any omissions or misspellings. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Academy 

Coralia Barraza, Principal 

John O’Connell, Asst. Principal 

Francisca Casas, Asst. Principal 

Connie Amon, teacher 

Carmen Aguilar, teacher 

Alicia Bautista, parent 

Jeanette Briseño, teacher 

Alyssa B. Dons, teacher 

Kimberly Cannon, teacher 

Louis Coronel, teacher 

Dawn Creed, teacher 

Tara Davis, teacher 

Maria Economou, teacher 

Teresa Fraga, parent coordinator 

Maria Fuentes, teacher 

Omar Guzmán, parent 

Marylee Henning, teacher 

Deborah Jackson, student 

Norma Moreno, teacher 

Daniel Naliwajko, teacher 

Mercedes <strong>Orozco</strong>, student 

Oliver Ramirez, student 

Robert Reznar, teacher 

Norma Rodriguez, parent 

Alicia Song, teacher 

Roberto Valdez, student 

Sonia Zamora, parent 

The Resurrection Project 

Raul Raymundo, Executive Director 

Álvaro Obregón, New Communities 

Program Organizer 

Alivio Medical Center 

Carmen Velásquez, Executive 

Director 

Ana Baro 

Maria De La Paz Martinez 

Julia Escamilla 

Marco Garduno 

Pilsen Neighbors Community 

Council 

Juan Soto, Executive Director 

Claudia Marchan 

Ed McNamara 

Other planning participants 

Alicia Amador, Mujeres Latinas en 

Acción 

Alice Dungey, DeVry University 

John Kenny, 12th District, Chicago 

Police Department 

Judith Kent, National-Louis 

University 

Annie Lionberger, CPS, Children and 

Family Benefits Unit 

Michael X. Quaintance, National- 

Louis University 

Dora Rodriguez, CPS, Children and 

Family Benefits Unit 

Cmdr. Ronald P. Sodini, 12th District, 

Chicago Police Department 

Sixto Torres, YMCA, Pilsen-Little 

Village Mental Health Center 

Nancy Villagranca, Nat’l Museum of 

Mexican Art 

Technical support 

Chris Brown, ISS-Chicago 

consultant 

Jobi Petersen, ISS-Chicago 

consultant 

Elizabeth Duffrin, scribe, LISC/ 

Chicago 

Patrick Barry, scribe coordinator, 


Liz Reyes, Illinois Facilities Fund 

Kirby Burkholder, Illinois Facilities 

Fund 

Susana Vasquez, LISC/Chicago New 

Communities Program director 

Antonia Rodriguez 

3 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

1 SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT 

Above-average school builds 

on success 

Jose Clemente <strong>Orozco</strong> Academy in Pilsen has a strong 

academic reputation despite many challenges. The school 

has a high poverty rate: nearly all of its students qualify for 

free or reduced-priced lunch. Many children speak 

Spanish at home as nearly all are Mexican immigrants or 

of Mexican descent. Yet the school posts standardized 

test scores above the city average and is a stand-out in 

the Pilsen neighborhood. 

Named after a famous Mexican muralist, the school is also 

known for its fine arts program. <strong>Orozco</strong> students attend 

several art classes weekly. Hallways are brightly decorated 

with student paintings. After-school programs include 

mural painting, choir, contemporary dance and Mexican 

folkloric dance in traditional costumes. 

PROFILE: 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy 

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS (2006) 

Number of students (PreK-8) 719 

Number of middle-school students (Grades 6-8) 600 

Percent low-income 97.3 

Percent Latino 96.4 

PERFORMANCE (2006) 

Percent 8 th -graders meeting standards – reading (ISAT) 75.1 

Percent 8 th -graders meeting standards – math (ISAT) 72.5 

Attendance rate 97.1 

Percent mobility (transfers in and out/year) 14.1 

Sources: <strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy, Illinois <strong>School</strong> Report Card, 2006 

The school’s average daily attendance rate suggests that 

<strong>Orozco</strong> is a place where students want to be. At 97 percent, 

it tops both state and city averages. 

Still, <strong>Orozco</strong> staff feel that a lack of resources has prevented 

them from meeting the needs of every child. About 250 

<strong>Orozco</strong> students are still failing to meet state academic 

standards as measured on annual tests. Even highperforming 

bilingual students — the school houses a 

program for gifted bilingual students in the 1st through 8 th 

grades — are sometimes shut out of the city’s most 

selective high schools because of their limited English 

fluency. With only one overburdened counselor and one 

part-time nurse to serve the general population, plus a 

part-time social worker, the school is too short-staffed to 

fully address the range of health and emotional issues 

facing children and their families. 

In the early 1990s, the school took a leap forward under 

former principal Rebeca de los Reyes, who has since 


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SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CONTEXT 

Profile: 

Pilsen (Lower West Side) Community Area, 

Chicago, IL 

DEMOGRAPHICS (2005 estimates) 

been promoted to a district position. She organized regular 

planning time and in-depth professional development for 

teachers and began to form partnerships with community 

agencies that had previously had little contact with the 

school. 

At de los Reyes’ departure, a school council made up of 

parents, teachers and community members selected 

Coralia Barraza to replace her. Formerly a 2 nd grade 

bilingual teacher and later an assistant principal at <strong>Orozco</strong>, 

Barraza continued the school’s high academic standards. 

The curriculum is “project-based,” meaning that students 

must do in-depth, independent work in addition to regular 

homework and class assignments. Every student 

completes four major projects a year including two 

research papers. They also complete several smaller 

projects in every subject each quarter that must be 

presented in writing and orally before the class. 

Finding and keeping outstanding teachers is a priority at 

<strong>Orozco</strong>. The interview process is rigorous. Applicants must 

go through multiple interviews with administrators, parents 

and potential colleagues who all weigh in on the hiring 

decision. Barraza has encouraged the departure of several 

teachers who did not meet the school’s high standards, but 

teacher turnover remains low, with only one or two new 

faculty members each year joining a teaching staff of 40. 

Teachers say supportive administrators and enthusiastic 

colleagues keep them committed to <strong>Orozco</strong>. 

To improve teaching, the school invests in sustained, 

high-quality professional development rather than 

one-shot workshops. <strong>Orozco</strong> staff recently completed a 

Population 45,204 four-year-long professional development program to 

Population change 1960-2005 down 3,244 

improve the teaching of reading and writing. Teachers 

received intensive training on strategies for teaching 

Percent Latino 88.4 

literacy, consultants provided classroom observation and 

Percent white 6.5 feedback, and teachers observed lessons taught in other 

Percent African-American 2.1 Pilsen schools. The schedule is structured to promote 

staff collaboration. To plan instruction and discuss 

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS (2005 estimates) 

individual students, teachers meet twice a week — once 

with their grade level and a second time with those 

Number of households 13,345 teaching the same content area. 

Households with income below $15,000 3,376 

Households with income from $15,000 to $74,999 8,777 

Households with income above $75,000 1,192 Obstacles remain 

Public and private school enrollment (K-12) 10,662 

Still, the school faces obstacles to preparing students for 

Source:United States Census 2005 estimates as compiled by Metro Chicago Information Center, 

www.mcic.org 

high school and beyond. Students from <strong>Orozco</strong>’s two 

feeder elementary schools often arrive for 6 th grade or 7 th

grade under-prepared and with limited English skills, even 

after years of bilingual education. Many students enter 

with undiagnosed learning disabilities as well. 

Recently <strong>Orozco</strong> administrators and teachers have forged 

a stronger relationship with feeder schools to encourage 

better preparation, but they expect substantial change to 

take years. In the meantime, some <strong>Orozco</strong> students have 

catching-up to do. About 30 percent are failing to meet 

state standards, and limited English skills reduce the 

prospects for many. Staff feel that the school day is simply 

too short to close the achievement gap. 

Students also suffer from social, emotional and health 

issues that detract from learning. The school does its best 

to address those issues with limited resources. For 

example, every teacher and administrator meets monthly 

with a small student advisory to discuss careers and teen 

issues and to get student feedback on teaching and 

school programs. To improve student nutrition, staff 

recently waged a campaign to get the district to fund a 

salad bar in the school cafeteria. 

Principal Barraza and <strong>Orozco</strong> staff realize that new 

strategies and resources will be required to send on every 

graduate well-prepared for high school and a career. “If 

you want to get different results, you have to do different 

things,” says Barraza. 

Pilsen neighborhood comes 

together 

Located three miles southwest of downtown Chicago, the 

Pilsen neighborhood has been a port of entry for Mexican 

immigrants since the 1960s. 

Compared to the city average, unemployment is low in 

Pilsen’s census area. Yet many residents still struggle, 

working multiple jobs in nearby factories and restaurants 

to support their families. With limited time and resources, 

parents depend heavily on local schools for academic and 

social supports that they cannot provide for their children 

at home. 

Achievement at most neighborhood public elementary 

schools is below the city average. Only 47 percent of 

freshmen at the neighborhood high school graduate within 

five years. Only 43.5 percent of adults in the Lower West 

Side, the official name for the Pilsen community, hold high 

school diplomas, the second lowest percentage of any 

community area in the city. 

Improving education is among the top priorities for a 

recently-formed coalition of neighborhood groups. The 

Pilsen Planning Committee, led by four established 

organizations including The Resurrection Project, Alivio 

Medical Center and Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, 

and supported by dozens more, completed a quality-oflife 

plan for the neighborhood in 2006. It includes 

strategies for school improvement from preschool through 

post-secondary education. For example, local principals 

have banded together to lobby for the expansion of 

neighborhood preschools. The West Side Technical 

Institute, part of the city college system, will guide all 

graduating seniors from Juarez High <strong>School</strong> to plan for 

continuing education. 

Groups that led the planning committee agree that 

students in the crucial middle grades need more intensive 

supports to prepare them for success. <strong>Orozco</strong> Academy 

has the strong faculty, long history of good leadership 

and track record to become this crucial agent of change in 

the neighborhood. 

The business district along 18 th Street remains lively with 

Spanish-speaking pedestrians and family-owned stores 

and the neighborhood is known for its colorful Mexican 

murals. Pilsen is also home to the country’s largest Latino 

arts institution, the National Museum of Mexican Art. But 

today, with gentrification encroaching from the east and 

the nearby University of Illinois at Chicago, community 

groups are working together to expand availability of 

affordable housing and to preserve the neighborhood’s 

Mexican character. 


| 6

2 VISION AND GOALS 

Our vision: Graduates are 

well-prepared, confident and 

intellectually curious 

<strong>Orozco</strong> will graduate students who are academically 

successful, intellectually curious, creative, motivated and 

organized, who possess a love of reading and learning 

and who are ready to compete in the city’s best high 

schools. The supports that they and their families receive 

at <strong>Orozco</strong> will send them out into the world confident and 

emotionally healthy. They will have adopted habits to 

maintain good health and avoid risky behavior. As citizens, 

they will be responsible and engaged in civic life. With a 

positive attitude and excellent manners, <strong>Orozco</strong> students 

will graduate ready to make a positive impact on future 

classmates, employers and their community. 

Academics 

> Every student will receive instruction that both 

challenges and supports them to achieve their potential. 

> Students will develop a love of learning and the arts. 

> All students regardless of their bilingual or special 

education status will show at least one year’s academic 

growth for each year of learning. 

> Students will possess the organizational skills and 

habits needed to succeed in high school and the work 

place. 

> Students will become aware of the health careers 

available to them and the advantage that they possess 

as bilingual Spanish-speakers when seeking 

employment. 

Social Supports 

> Students will develop the social and emotional skills to 

handle conflict and anger productively and to treat 

others with respect. 

> Students at-risk, especially those who are recent 

immigrants, will receive the social services necessary to 

become emotionally healthy and academically engaged. 

> Families will become aware of the full range of social 

services available to them in their neighborhood and will 

access those services as needed. 

> Parents will understand how to support their children’s 

learning, social and emotional growth and good health 

habits. 

> Parents will learn financial skills and access public 

benefits that can assist them in providing a stable home 

environment. 

> Students and their families will understand the high 

school options available to them and select the 

programs that best meet their needs and interests. 

Students will understand high school and college 

entrance requirements and set long-term goals. 

Health 

> Every student and family will possess the knowledge 

and motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle. 

> All students will be covered by health insurance and 

receive comprehensive health care including annual 

physical and dental exams. Families will also receive 

affordable care. 

7 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

3 SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION PLAN 

Stronger skills and a passion 

for learning 

<strong>Orozco</strong>’s curriculum is challenging and our expectations 

high. Many of our students rise to those expectations and 

our standardized test scores reflect their achievement. But 

our goal of sending all students to high school prepared to 

excel will not be realized until we sweep away the 

obstacles that interfere with their learning. Our school 

transformation plan is designed to do just that. 

Some of our students struggle with basic math and 

reading skills. Others misplace assignments and fail to 

complete long-term projects. Even some of our best 

students possess limited English vocabulary. Others are 

burdened by poor social skills, depression, family conflict, 

unhealthy habits or untreated medical conditions. 

First, our students need to bolster their academic skills. 

Our extended-day and summer school programs include 

elements that strengthen math and reading skills and build 

English vocabulary. During the regular school day we will 

work to address a wider range of learning levels. For 

example, we will add new math skill-building activities and 

an accelerated algebra class. 

Second, our students need to sharpen their organizational 

skills. The inability to set goals, manage time and organize 

materials are key reasons why many students, even gifted 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Community Academy Integrated Program for <strong>School</strong> Transformation 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS 

Extended day and learning 

> Open until 6 p.m. 

> Saturday school 

> Summer programming 

> Physical activity and clubs 

> Music and arts 

> Middle school endorsements 

> Data-driven instruction 

> Drop Everything and Read 

> Teacher and tutor training 

> Readers and Writers Workshops 

> Ramping up Math 

Social supports 

> Needs assessments 

> Positive school culture 

> Life coaching and peer support 

> College for Certain 

Healthy students 

> On-site health clinic 

> Teen pregnancy and STDs 

> Fitness instruction 

> Aquatics program 

> Nutrition education 

> Healthy food 

> Meal supports 

Family/community involvement 

> Family income supports 

> Communication and problem solving 

> Parent council and parent workshops 

> Community action 

> Community Advisory Board 


| 8

SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION PLAN 

ones, falter. A program designed by Rush Neurobehavioral 

Center will teach these skills, which will be reinforced 

during the after-school program. 

But to truly excel, students need to develop a passion for 

learning. At <strong>Orozco</strong> we find that the arts are a powerful 

motivator. We are already working to integrate artistic 

disciplines into academic subjects and plan to pursue 

additional training with an outside partner. Our extended 

day plan adds further opportunities to learn through the 

arts, with a choir, theater, dance troupes and a new 

Mexican mariachi band. 

Our academic enrichment clubs, now held during the 

school day 10 times a year, get even under-performing 

students excited about learning. We will extend time for 

these clubs into the after-school hours to further build 

students’ academic skills through high-interest activities 

such as creating a school newspaper or designing a 

science experiment. 

We will also expand field trips to the city’s cultural offerings 

such as museums and performances. Exposure to the 

world outside Pilsen will spark kids’ curiosity and build the 

background knowledge that is crucial for improving their 

reading comprehension. 

Healthy kids 

An on-site health center, healthy eating programs and new 

fitness activities will support our goals for student health. 

The health center will provide comprehensive medical care, 

including annual health screenings, immunizations, mental 

health counseling and dental services. Our health partner, 

Alivio Medical Center, will run health education programs 

for parents, organize a family health club and support a 

health careers curriculum during the school day. Alivio’s 

workshop for parents on talking to teens about sex will 

complement our existing comprehensive sex education 

classes for students. An outreach team will encourage 

eligible families to sign-up for state medical insurance. 

To improve nutrition, we are adding a salad bar to the 

school cafeteria. Students’ weekly health class will 

introduce students to the salad bar and the importance of 

eating produce. A new vegetable garden cultivated by 

students during health and science classes and as part of 

the extended-day program will also encourage interest in 

healthy eating. 

Our extended day will provide time for three additional 

fitness classes per week and add new sports teams to our 

existing teams and dance programs. Alivio’s family health 

club will participate in a Saturday run. 

New social supports will include year-round, one-on-one 

mentoring, expanded social service referrals and additional 

workshops for parents to support their children’s learning 

and to create stable home environments. One will assist 

them in signing up for public benefits. 

Long-range goals can help students maintain their 

motivation for learning. Beginning in 6th grade, we will 

explain admission requirements to different schools and 

invite high school counselors to talk about their programs. 

In 8th grade, students will “shadow” high school freshmen 

to get a close-up view of their options. Looking beyond 

high school, we will hold information sessions for parents 

and students about college entrance requirements and 

financial aid. Every student will take at least one field trip to 

a local college campus. 

9 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

4 EXTENDED DAY AND LEARNING: 

BUILDING ON STRENGTH 

An extended day to boost achievement and health 

Our extended-day plan will meet a range of student 

needs. Academic programs will provide intensive help for 

the lowest performers, vocabulary development for 

students learning English as a second language and 

academic enrichment clubs for kids at all levels. <strong>Building</strong> 

on the success of our existing after-school program, we 

will offer new fitness activities, sports teams, art 

workshops, health workshops and social services. 

on homework and projects. The computer labs will be 

open for students and families. Between January and 

March, the district will run an enrichment class in language 

arts and math for students who fall in the mid-range on 

standardized test scores. A community partner will 

continue to offer weekly parenting classes. Alivio Medical 

Center’s family running club will also meet outside the 

school weekly and be open to all middle-school students. 

The extended day will run from 2:45 until 6 p.m., hours 

when many of our students are otherwise left unsupervised. 

The programming not only helps reduce risky behaviors, 

but will use small group activities to strengthen relationships 

that can increase student motivation during the regular 

school day. 

A newly-hired program director will oversee the afterschool 

program and coordinate social services. Our 

teachers will staff the first two academic programs listed 

below and many of the enrichment clubs. We will also 

continue to coach competitive sports. Computer labs 

will continue to be available for students and their families 

for one hour before and one hour after-school. Many 

of the new programs will be led by outside instructors 

and volunteers. 

Our school-day academic program will continue to 

improve in coordination with the after-school program. 

Our commitment to long-term professional development 

for teachers will continue with several new programs, and 

we will use new curricula, mentoring and skills-training to 

help all students improve their performance. 

Saturday sessions 

We will open the school one Saturday per month for 

sports and fitness, academic enrichment and extra help 

Expanded summer program 

The district funds summer school for students in 6 th and 

8 th grade with low standardized test scores. <strong>Orozco</strong> will 

add a similar program for 50 students in the 7 th grade. 

The program will include an hour of reading, an hour of 

math and an hour of physical education plus a vegetable 

gardening club. Alivio’s six-week Family Health Camp 

will also meet over the summer and will be open to 

<strong>Orozco</strong> students. 

Professional development 

and leadership training 

To improve teaching, the school invests in sustained, 

high-quality professional development rather than 

one-shot workshops. Through the Pilsen Education 

Network, for instance, teachers attended workshops, 

became peer coaches, modeled lessons and strategies 

for other teachers, and participated in peer observations 

at <strong>Orozco</strong> as well as at other schools in the network. To 

further improve the capabilities of our staff, we will 

concentrate on three new efforts in the coming years: 

> Mentoring to strengthen instruction. The <strong>Orozco</strong> 

staff believes teamwork is the key to improving 

instruction. The school already schedules time for 


| 10

EXTENDED DAY AND LEARNING: BUILDING ON STRENGTH 

teacher collaboration, with teachers meeting twice a 

week to plan lessons and discuss individual 

students — once with their grade level and a second 

time with those teaching the same content area. To 

further sharpen the focus on improving instruction, we 

will use school discretionary funds to train four teachers 

to serve as mentors to their peers. These mentors will 

lead planning sessions and coach teachers in the 

classroom as they learn new strategies. They will also 

cover classrooms so that teachers may observe each 

other’s teaching, both to learn and to provide feedback. 

> Professional development priorities. Areas 

targeted for professional development in the coming 

years include: 

• Teaching social and emotional skills through a newly 

purchased curriculum for student advisory. 

• Teaching higher order thinking in all subject areas (i.e., 

analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing as opposed to 

simply recalling facts and procedures). 

• Tailoring instruction to meet a variety of learning 

levels; developing individual and small group activities 

in “learning centers” around the classroom. 

• Integrating artistic disciplines with academic subjects 

to increase student motivation. 

• Integrating a new health careers program with the 

core academic program. 

> Supporting bilingual students. Most <strong>Orozco</strong> 

students begin their school career in a bilingual 

program, and by middle school, most have enrolled in 

English-only classes. Yet many fail to demonstrate a 

full-year’s progress for a full year’s instruction. More 

instructional strategies for reaching English-language 

learners will be instituted to accelerate their academic 

growth during the regular school day and after school. 

To develop more teachers who are considered “highly 

qualified” under federal guidelines to teach bilingual 

students, <strong>Orozco</strong> will hire National-Louis University to 

offer two semester-long classes on site for <strong>Orozco</strong> 

teachers to earn state endorsements in either bilingual 

education or English as a Second Language. 

Rigorous reading instruction 

<strong>Orozco</strong>’s rigorous reading program addresses the needs 

of English language learners, struggling readers, average 

and gifted students. This year the school invested 

$45,000 in a new series that includes workbooks for 

students at a variety of skill levels and special materials for 

bilingual and gifted students. The reading series comes 

with novels in Spanish and English. Students are expected 

to read 25 novels each school year. 

Teachers have noted, however, that nearly all students, 

even gifted ones, need more intensive vocabulary 

development. Analyzing standardized test score data, 

school staff have consistently identified vocabulary as a 

weak area. About 80 percent of <strong>Orozco</strong>’s parents speak 

Spanish at home, and even gifted students need exposure 

to a richer English vocabulary. 

To build vocabulary, <strong>Orozco</strong> will offer a program during its 

extended day that allows students to role-play professions 

such as a lawyer, bank executive, magazine editor or 

project director at a technology company. Called 

Classroom, Inc., the program has students work 

alternatively in small groups and with computer software 

to simulate workplaces where they use literacy and math 

skills to make decisions and solve real-world problems. 

They will also expand on the technology skills that are part 

of their regular coursework. Each of 15 modules 

addresses a different profession. <strong>Orozco</strong> has already 

purchased one module and used it with great success in 

two bilingual classrooms. 

Hands-on math and science 

<strong>Orozco</strong> has strong math and science programs. While few 

Chicago elementary schools have even one science lab, 

<strong>Orozco</strong> has four, all well-stocked with equipment and 

supplies. Each student spends 80 minutes a week on lab 

activities, and all science and math teachers have state 

science or math endorsements and are highly-qualified 

under federal guidelines. 

Middle-grade math teachers follow the Connected 

Mathematics Program (CMP), a research-based middleschool 

mathematics program developed with support 

from the National Science Foundation. The math program 

requires a great deal of reading, writing and application of 

math concepts. This year, we invested $42,000 to 

purchase the revised edition which includes extra skillbuilding 

for struggling students. It also includes a prealgebra 

course for 7 th - and 8 th -graders and an algebra 

program for accelerated students in the 8 th grade. Next 

year, a projected thirty 8 th -graders will enroll in the 

accelerated algebra class. Those who wish to earn high 

school credit may also enroll in Illinois Virtual High <strong>School</strong>’s 

11 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

Academic enrichment clubs. <strong>Orozco</strong> already runs 

academic enrichment clubs called “Academy Day” 

during the regular school day for about 40 minutes ten 

times a year. We will offer these popular clubs during 

the after-school program to build academic skills and 

knowledge through high-interest activities. For instance, 

the science club builds containers capable of protecting 

dropped eggs to learn about force and acceleration. 

Other clubs include chess, graphic design and 

journalism. Student surveys show that Academy Days 

are among the most popular school activities and 

motivate even struggling students. Enrichment clubs will 

be available during and after the other academic 

programs to ensure maximum participation by a range 

of students. 

> Homework help. National-Louis University has 

provided tutors to staff a homework club for about 15 

students a day. 

algebra program. The number of students enrolled in 

algebra will increase annually as we continue to accelerate 

their growth. 

<strong>Building</strong> academic skills 

Several programs will be targeted at students who need 

help gaining basic concepts and study skills. These 

programs will be integrated across the regular school day 

and extended-day programs. 

> After-school Counts. This district-funded program 

will target students who score in the bottom two stanines 

on standardized tests. Students receive an extra hour of 

instruction in reading and math four days a week. 

> Classroom, Inc. This program will target students 

learning English as a second language who do not 

participate in After-school Counts. In the first year, it will 

enroll 6 th -graders, all of whom are exiting a bilingual 

program from one of our feeder schools. In subsequent 

years, Classroom, Inc., will also serve middleperforming 

7 th and 8 th -graders who do not qualify for 

After-school Counts. This program will run for an hour 

after-school daily. 

> Field trips. Most students have limited experience 

with the world outside of Pilsen. The after-school 

program will include educational field trips each year to 

expose students to the city’s cultural offerings. Through 

field trips, students will gain new background 

knowledge and vocabulary needed to improve their 

reading comprehension. 

Art, music and performing 

arts 

Because <strong>Orozco</strong> is a fine arts academy, the district pays 

for three art teachers, which allows students to receive 

three art classes a week instead of one or none. <strong>Orozco</strong> 

does not have a music teacher, but has a choir and 

Mexican folkloric and modern dance troupes, all of which 

will benefit from the expanded after-school program. The 

school purchased a program, A.R.T. (Art Resources in 

Teaching), that is guiding teachers to integrate art projects 

in their reading and social studies curricula through 

professional development and co-teaching. We will continue 

staff training in arts integration during the coming school 

year, and add the following arts-related programming 

after school: 

> Theater troupe. We will add a theater troupe for 

middle school students to our after-school offerings. 

Reading and performing scripts will build students’ 

reading fluency, vocabulary, public speaking skills and 

confidence. 


| 12

EXTENDED DAY AND LEARNING: BUILDING ON STRENGTH 

> Mariachi band. The neighborhood high school 

already offers a mariachi band, creating the possibility of 

a continuous program that can help keep kids sustain 

their motivation throughout their middle and high school 

years. <strong>Orozco</strong> already owns an extensive collection of 

musical instruments for students who choose to 

participate. 

> Technology and the arts. Our extended-day 

program will offer students activities that integrate art 

and technology and build on technology skills that 

students learn during the school day. Workshops will 

include music production, graphic arts, video production 

and web page design. 

Promoting organizational 

skills 

<strong>Orozco</strong> has few discipline problems compared to other 

Chicago middle schools. Adult cooperation, consistent 

rules and enforcement have lead to a peaceful, orderly 

school environment with minimal disruptions. However, 

while students are orderly, many still lack the 

organizational skills that will allow them to excel in high 

school, college and the workplace. <strong>Orozco</strong> will adopt a 

program for the 3 rd to 8 th grades developed by Rush 

Neurobehavioral Center to teach skills such as goalsetting, 

self-discipline, breaking large projects into smaller 

steps and efficient time management. These skills will be 

taught during the school day and reinforced in the 

after-school program by teachers, mentors and tutors. 

Rush’s Executive Functioning Program was designed to 

reach students whose learning disabilities interfered with 

their organizational skills, but is appropriate for other 

students as well. Teachers will receive professional 

development and students, a planner, a zippered binder 

and labeled folders to provide a structure for organization. 

Parents will receive training during <strong>Orozco</strong>’s back-toschool 

orientation day. The program has been used 

successfully by schools in Chicago and in nearby suburbs. 

The binders will also serve as a communication tool 

between regular classroom teachers and colleagues, 

mentors and tutors working with students in the afterschool 

program. 

13 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

5 HEALTHY STUDENTS: On-Site Health 

Center and More 

Educators know that students’ health influences their 

learning. Children who lack proper medical and dental 

care or engage in risky behaviors are more likely to fall 

behind academically. 

At <strong>Orozco</strong>, staff note a number of health problems that 

could be substantially reduced with an on-site health 

center. Many Pilsen families lack primary care providers. 

Parents are often unable to take children to the doctor’s 

office without sacrificing badly needed pay. As a result, 

children end up with serious, untreated ear infections and 

respiratory problems. Many families also lack health 

insurance due to their immigration status. Only 43 percent 

of <strong>Orozco</strong> students eligible for free state medical coverage 

have enrolled. 

A significant number of <strong>Orozco</strong> children are overweight 

or obese due to poor nutrition and a lack of exercise. 

A few are diabetic but nurses suspect many more 

undiagnosed cases. Untreated depression is also an issue 

for many children. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> must share a district nurse with four other schools. 

Required paperwork saps most of the nurse’s time leaving 

limited opportunity to provide medical care. An additional 

nurse serves children with chronic conditions. 

To address these health needs, <strong>Orozco</strong> is building a 

strong partnership with Alivio Medical Center, a bilingual 

community health center serving primarily Latinos on 

Chicago’s Southwest Side. Alivio has years of experience 

partnering with public schools for health fairs, exercise 

classes, after-school programs and in-school health 

centers. A new health center at <strong>Orozco</strong> would address 

many of the health and social factors that interfere with 

students’ academic success, including teen pregnancy 

and inadequate exercise. 

Comprehensive health care 

In partnership with Alivio and the Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s, 

we will build and staff an on-site health center to increase 

the level of primary care and boost the number of 

medically-insured children. <strong>Orozco</strong>’s health center will be 

operated by Alivio Medical Center under the supervision of 

Alivio’s medical director. Alivio is a Federally Qualified 

Community Health Center that currently operates health 

centers in two Chicago public schools and offers health 

programs to an additional five. 

Alivio is recognized by the State of Illinois as a lead agency 

in registering children for All Kids state health insurance. 

Many immigrants, because of their legal status, are 

distrustful of government programs. <strong>Orozco</strong>’s on-site 

health center offers enormous potential for Alivio staff to 

continue building the trusting relationships needed to 

convince more parents to enroll. 

The Alivio-<strong>Orozco</strong> <strong>School</strong> Health Center will be open five 

days a week for a total of 40 hours. After hours, a doctor 

will remain on-call. It will offer culturally appropriate, 

comprehensive primary health care as well as health 

education to <strong>Orozco</strong> families, teachers and nearby Pilsen 

residents in a medically underserved area. Alivio Medical 

Center expects the health center to become selfsustaining 

within three years of its opening. Alivio will bill 

Medicaid and private insurance companies for 

reimbursement and will continuously seek funding from 

government and private sources for sustainability. 

Alivio will survey parents, teachers and students to identify 

the most pressing health concerns and health education 

interests and tailor its programs accordingly. 


| 14

HEALTHY STUDENTS: LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 

Health center buildout 

Representatives from <strong>Orozco</strong>, Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s, 

Alivio, The Resurrection Project, Wallin-Gomez Architects, 

and the Illinois Facilities Fund agreed that the following 

elements should be incorporated into the <strong>Orozco</strong> health 

facility: 

The center will incorporate the following elements, as 

shown in the floor layout: 

> Waiting areas 

> Reception area/desk 

> 3 exam rooms 

> Nurses’ station/secure medical record storage 

> Locked cabinet with medications 

> Office space for providers and counseling staff 

> Laboratory space (workroom) with pass-through 

connection to washroom 

> Washroom 

> Accessory storage spaces 

<strong>Orozco</strong> has identified classrooms #101 and #103 for the 

health center space. These are adjacent classrooms that 

share an internal wall and front the southern exterior wall 

of the building. In the interest of security, a separate 

entrance will be built for the health center. However, 

students would be able to access the center from a 

secured entrance in the school corridor. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> will need to relocate a special needs classroom 

and switch two art classrooms to accommodate the 

health center. The development budget provides funds 

for the classroom relocations and associated physical 

improvements including landscaping, exterior signage, 

an awning at the new entrance, a T-1 line to connect 

the health center to Alivio’s mainframe computer and 

separate telephone lines. 

On-site health services 

The health center staff will include a full-time family nurse 

practitioner and a social worker and clerical and medical 

support staff. Primary care includes annual physical 

exams, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic 

illnesses, health and preventive education, referrals for 

specialized services, laboratory exams and ancillary 

services such as case management. Health center 

services will also include: 

> Physicals and immunizations. By providing 

state-required immunizations and physicals on site, the 

health center will reduce the number of students who 

are not in compliance and who must therefore be 

excluded from school. 

> Health screenings. Few <strong>Orozco</strong> children receive 

routine check-ups beyond the required health exams 

prior to entering the 1 st , 5 th and 9 th grades. The school 

health center will provide annual physicals for all <strong>Orozco</strong> 

students with parental consent. Vision and hearing 

screenings will be included. The screenings will help to 

identify previously undetected conditions such as 

diabetes. Children found to be overweight will be 

encouraged to participate with their parents in the 

Family Health Club. 

> Mental health services. A social worker will offer 

counseling to students and families. The social worker 

will also run group discussions for students on teen 

issues. 

> Discount pharmacy. Discount medications will be 

available to all health center patients through the Alivio 

Medical Center pharmacy, which is one mile from 

<strong>Orozco</strong>. 

15 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

Health promotion and 

outreach 

At the beginning of each school year, Alivio will lead an 

intensive campaign to alert <strong>Orozco</strong> parents to available 

services and to collect written consent for children to be 

treated without a parent present. Alivio will mail a brochure 

to all <strong>Orozco</strong> students in the summer prior to the health 

center’s opening to promote the available services and All 

Kids enrollment. Outreach workers from Alivio will staff an 

information table during open house and report card 

pick-up days. In addition, Alivio will present its programs 

to families and students during the back-to-school 

orientation day. We will also attract community clients with 

flyers and advertisements in major stores. Community 

members will be scheduled for different times than 

students. Preliminary plans for the health center include 

separate waiting areas for students and outside clients. 

Insurance for All Kids 

All Illinois children are eligible for state medical insurance 

regardless of their legal status. Alivio staff will partner with 

the district’s regional Children & Family Benefits Unit, 

which is housed at <strong>Orozco</strong>, to insure that all eligible 

children not otherwise covered are signed up for the state 

program, called All Kids. The health center will accept 

Medicaid for adults and uninsured families will be allowed 

to pay on a sliding-fee scale according to their income. 

Nobody will be denied services. 

Sex education for students 

and parents 

<strong>Orozco</strong> follows district guidelines in teaching sex education 

to 6 th , 7 th and 8 th -graders, and the health teachers have 

received training and certification from the district. In 6 th 

grade, students learn the basics of human reproduction. 

In 7 th and 8 th grade, students learn about sexually 

transmitted diseases and responsible sexual behavior 

including both abstinence and contraception. <strong>Orozco</strong> 

uses a variety of on-line and printed materials in both 

English and Spanish. 

Alivio will run culturally-sensitive workshops for interested 

parents on how to talk to their teens about sex. 

Community residents trained as health promoters will 

provide these workshops on-site at <strong>Orozco</strong>. With a grant 

from the Illinois State Library Association, our school has 

already purchased family sex education books and videos 

that are available to parents in the library. <strong>Orozco</strong> held an 

event to introduce parents to the materials. 

Parents as health educators 

<strong>Orozco</strong> parents will be invited to take a six-week course 

to become community health promoters, Compañeros 

en Salud. During this training they will learn about 

nutrition, chronic illnesses, locating and promoting 

resources for community residents and will be exposed 

to different careers in the health care field. Alivio has 

assisted many parents who completed this program in 

pursuing health careers. 

Family health club 

Alivio’s family health clubs at three other Chicago 

elementary schools have had encouraging results: 20 

to 30 families registered and all improved their eating 

habits and lowered their BMI. At one school, 25 students 

joined the running club. 

At <strong>Orozco</strong>, Alivio will lead two eight-week family health 

clubs three times a week and a six week summer Family 

Health Camp for up to 25 families per session. The 

program will include: 

> Exercise. Parents will attend aerobics classes at 

<strong>Orozco</strong> two days a week with a certified aerobics 

instructor. Children will receive one fitness class and one 

day of sports during the same 45 minute period. Both 

parents and their children will be invited to a Saturday 

health run at the school. 

> Health education. Children and parents will 

participate in separate groups for six sessions of 

health education. Topics will include preventing diabetes 

and cancer, eating a balanced diet, identifying foods 

high in fat and cholesterol and how small changes in 

physical activity can bring big benefits. Children will 

participate with their parents in one session, a healthy 

cooking demonstration. 

> Tracking improvement. Parents and kids will be 

invited but not required to weigh-in before and after the 


| 16

HEALTHY STUDENTS: LIVING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE 

program and to calculate changes in their Body-Mass 

Indexes in order to track improvement. 

Healthy eating 

Our school community has a long-standing interest in 

improving food choices within the school and improving 

the eating habits of students and their families. <strong>Orozco</strong>’s 

involvement in a federal wellness program led us to lobby 

the Chicago Public <strong>School</strong>s to install a salad bar and fund 

additional meal preparation time for lunchroom staff. We 

will open the salad bar in the fall of 2007 and implement 

the following programs in the coming years: 

> Healthy snacks. Because school lunches provide 

limited fruit and vegetable offerings that are often 

unpalatable to students, our parents will run a kiosk 

during lunch with fresh fruit and healthy snacks available 

to students at-cost. 

> Nutrition education. The health teacher will stress 

the importance of eating fruits and vegetables at home 

and school, and students will sample salad bar offerings 

in class. They will also create intercom and T.V. 

announcements to promote the school salad bar and 

healthy eating. We will promote healthy eating and 

exercise to families as well, because educating children 

about good nutrition and physical activity has minimal 

impact when those habits are not modeled at home. 

> Student food surveys. Students will be surveyed 

about cafeteria food to ensure that the most nutritious 

offerings are well-prepared and attractively presented. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> will work with the district and lunchroom staff to 

improve the taste and presentation of food. 

> Vegetable garden. Students will plant a vegetable 

garden on school grounds as part of their science and 

health classes. The harvest will provide vegetables for 

healthy student snacks, the lunchroom and the Family 

Health Club cooking class. 

Expanded fitness 

The district funds only a single 40-minute gym class per 

week. With its own resources, <strong>Orozco</strong> purchased two 

additional full-time physical education teachers. As a 

result, students now receive two physical education 

classes and a health class every week. Still, we feel 

strongly that children need daily physical education in 

order to reduce obesity, instill healthy habits and achieve 

their academic potential. To address this need, our 

after-school program will include three 30-minute fitness 

classes per week in addition to sports teams, dance and 

other physical activities. Also, each year about 50 of our 

students will train and participate in the five-kilometer 

Alivio y Salud Run for Health under the supervision of our 

physical education teacher. Using grant money, we will 

create a fitness room with step-machines, stationary bikes 

and other exercise equipment. The room will be available 

to students, families and teachers. 

Health careers curriculum 

The health field offers a wealth of employment opportunities 

for <strong>Orozco</strong>’s bilingual population. Hispanics are the fastest 

growing ethnic group in the United States, and currently 

comprise 12.5 percent of the total U.S. population and 26 

percent of the population in the City of Chicago. Yet only 

6.1 percent of medical school graduates in 2002 were 

Hispanic, according to the American Medical Association, 

and Latino nurses comprise only 2 percent of the total U.S. 

nursing population. The health care industry consistently 

has more available jobs than trained professionals to fill 

them, and demand is particularly high for medical workers 

who speak Spanish as well as English. 

A new health careers curriculum would offer <strong>Orozco</strong> 

students the following: 

> U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Curriculum. The department’s Adopt-a-<strong>School</strong> 

curriculum will expose students to different health 

careers and help them develop specific skills such as 

conducting research, developing projects, oral 

presentation and career-planning. Students will learn 

about the entrance requirements needed to become a 

health care professional and how decisions they and 

their parents make now will influence their ability to 

enter those fields later. The curriculum will be integrated 

into the existing language arts, social studies, health, 

math and science curriculum. Students will also be 

introduced to the nursing program offered at Juarez 

High, the neighborhood high school. 

> Shadowing health care professionals. Alivio will 

invite interested students to shadow a health care 

professional on the job. Alivio will also recruit staff to 

serve as mentors to interested students. 

17 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

6 SOCIAL SUPPORTS: MEETING NEEDS 

OF ALL STUDENTS 

Many of our students come from families in emotional 

or financial crisis. Parents often must work multiple jobs 

just to keep food on the table. As much as they want 

their children to succeed, some parents simply lack the 

information they need to fully support their children’s 

education. 

Our school does its best to close the gap. To build 

stronger relationships with kids, <strong>Orozco</strong> holds a 45-minute 

advisory period once a month for those in the middle 

grades. Every teacher and administrator meets with a 

small group of students to discuss careers and teen 

issues and to get student feedback on teaching and 

school programs. 

Research shows that <strong>Orozco</strong> Academy is a school with 

exceptionally high expectations for students. On a 2005 

student survey by the University of Chicago’s Consortium 

on Chicago <strong>School</strong> Research, <strong>Orozco</strong> students reported 

receiving both the personal attention and the press for 

achievement that characterize Chicago schools with the 

strongest standardized test score gains. 

Still, many of our students and families need more support. 

Our plan includes year-round, one-on-one mentoring, new 

workshops for parents, expanded social service referrals 

and case-management, benefits screening, financial 

counseling, more guidance on high school selection and a 

needs assessment to determine additional priorities. 

Needs assessment 

To identify students’ most pressing social needs, <strong>Orozco</strong> 

will collect data from a variety of sources. The school 

recently volunteered to participate in a district-wide survey 

by the Consortium. Over 500 middle-school students and 

40 teachers at <strong>Orozco</strong> completed the confidential survey. 

Questions for students covered school and neighborhood 

safety, student behavior, school discipline and relationships 

with teachers, parents and adults in the community. The 

Consortium will provide <strong>Orozco</strong> with its results in the 

coming months. 

Next year, <strong>Orozco</strong>’s health partner Alivio Medical Center, 

will work with the <strong>Orozco</strong> students to develop and 

administer a health survey to students. Alivio will also 

administer surveys to parents and teachers. All students 

who enroll in the extended-day program and their parents 

will also be surveyed to determine the activities and 

social services. 

Mentoring with successful 

adults 

More than half of all Pilsen residents who are 25 or older 

never completed high school. Imagining a future with 

college or technical school and a well-paying career is a 

stretch for many of our children. 

To change this situation, <strong>Orozco</strong> will work with community 

agencies and others to pair students with a successful 

professional, some from their own community. Beginning 

in 2007-08, <strong>Orozco</strong> will provide year-round one-on-one 

mentoring for 20 to 45 at-risk students. We are currently 

seeking a grant that would provide us with 30 trained 

mentors. Agencies who participated in this planning 

process — including The Resurrection Project, the 12 th 

Police District and Alivio Medical Center — will contribute 

and recruit additional mentors. In the first year of the 

mentoring program, we will target 6th-graders. 

Students in the 7 th and 8 th grades will be included in 

subsequent years. 


| 18

Social Supports: Serving the Whole Child 

More individual attention from a caring adult would also 

alleviate stress that some students are experiencing due 

to divorce and other family issues. We expect regular 

mentoring to reduce self-destructive behaviors and 

increase academic motivation. Students found to have 

serious issues will be referred to the social worker at 

<strong>Orozco</strong>’s new school health center. 

Support system for parents 

Improving the education and employment opportunities 

for parents can only benefit their children. For many years, 

<strong>Orozco</strong> has offered GED classes and ESL classes for 

parents on-site. Strengthening the English skills of parents 

is particularly important because our students are 

sometimes forced to miss school to serve as translators at 

the doctor’s office, the lawyer’s office, and so forth. 

<strong>Orozco</strong> routinely offers workshops for parents on a variety 

of issues. Parents packed a conference room for a recent 

workshop on gangs. Outside agencies provide the 

following classes and workshops: 

> ESL classes. National-Louis University enrolls about 

25 to 30 <strong>Orozco</strong> parents a year in one of three year-long 

courses offered on-site at the school. Instructors stress 

vocabulary that can help parents talk to teachers and 

with their own children about school and other 

important issues. For next year, we asked one of our 

feeder elementary schools, Cooper, to host the first two 

ESL courses. That will free space at our school for 

National-Louis to offer both the third level course and a 

fourth more advanced level. 

> GED classes. Malcolm X College offers Spanish GED 

classes for about 15 parents a year held at <strong>Orozco</strong>. 

> Parent Effectiveness Training. The Confederation 

of Spanish American Families leads Saturday parenting 

workshops in Spanish and English that follow the Parent 

Effectiveness Training model. Parents learn how to 

improve communication and discipline children without 

relying on punishment or rewards. 

> New workshops. Next year, <strong>Orozco</strong>’s community 

partners will offer additional workshops at the school. 

Some will address parenting skills. Others are aimed at 

reducing the financial instability that places tremendous 

stress on both students and families. 

> Financial literacy. The Resurrection Project will hold 

its series of financial literacy workshops and one-on-one 

financial counseling for parents on-site at <strong>Orozco</strong>. 

Benefit screening and 

income support 

The Instituto del Progreso Latino’s Center for Working 

Families will run a series of workshops to assist parents in 

signing-up for all public benefits that they are entitled to, 

building on efforts by the district’s Child & Family Benefits 

Unit, which is housed at <strong>Orozco</strong>. Instituto also offers 

employment services and job-training programs; 

immigration support; free income-tax preparation and 

financial counseling, all with the intent of building a family’s 

financial stability. 

High school and beyond 

Some <strong>Orozco</strong> graduates report that their high school is 

less challenging than middle school. Our top students 

clearly need more guidance in selecting high school 

programs that will build on their success here. And all our 

students need further guidance in matching their interests 

and talents to the vast array of high school options 

available in Chicago. 

19 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

Even some of our best students lose direction upon 

entering high school. But that initial floundering can have 

long-term consequences. In Chicago’s public schools, the 

chances of high school graduation can be strongly predicted 

from performance during the first 10 weeks of 9th grade, 

research has found. Furthermore, high school grades 

strongly predict the chances of college graduation, 

according to a recent study. Our students must understand 

why their performance matters before they step foot in 9 th 

grade and to set their sights for the future high. 

But students and parents need more information to make 

informed choices, and they need it earlier on. Some students 

realize too late that their grades and test scores will not allow 

them to enter the high school of their choice. Students need 

to understand in 6 th and 7 th -grade how middle school 

performance impacts their high school options. 

> High school fairs. <strong>Orozco</strong> will continue to host fairs 

where high school counselors meet with 8 th -graders 

and their parents to describe available programs. 

Eighth-graders also visit their neighborhood high 

school. We will add high school fairs for 6 th and 7 th 

graders to introduce them to high school programs and 

admission requirements. 

> Shadow days. We will organize opportunities for 

8 th -graders to “shadow” 9th-graders at a variety of high 

schools to help them make informed decisions about 

enrollment. 

> College counseling. We will invite every 8 th -grader to 

attend a session with their parents to learn about 

college admission. Most <strong>Orozco</strong> students are potentially 

the first in their families to consider college. They need 

to know that extracurricular activities, special talents, 

grades and standardized test scores all count towards 

admission at competitive colleges. Furthermore, many 

families may not see college as an affordable option. 

The session will introduce them to financial aid 

possibilities including special programs such as the 

Posse Foundation, which recruits inner-city students for 

selective schools based in part on their teamwork and 

leadership skills. 

> College trips. College is an abstraction for many 

children whose family members did not attend. Every 8 th 

grade student will participate in at least one field trip to 

a local college campus. 

Social service referrals 

<strong>Orozco</strong> currently has two social service partners. Students 

presenting symptoms of drug use are referred for 

substance abuse counseling with the Pilsen-Little Village 

Community Mental Health Center as a condition for 

avoiding arrest. This spring, the center started a discussion 

group for 10 girls at <strong>Orozco</strong> to discuss conflict resolution, 

emotional coping skills and teen issues. In addition, the 

YMCA Gang Intervention Program runs a weekly year-long 

group at <strong>Orozco</strong> for 10 to 15 at-risk students. 

Still, many more students and families in crisis could 

benefit from counseling and other services. While school 

staff sometimes refers families to counseling, we do not 

always have time to ensure that parents follow-up. We 

also sense that Pilsen has more social services to offer 

than we know about. Even the local police district lacks a 

thorough and up-to-date social service directory for the 

neighborhood. Agencies involved with Pilsen’s New 

Communities Program have also expressed a need for 

such a directory. A more comprehensive approach to 

linking families with social services would lead to more 

referrals, better follow-up and earlier intervention for 

families in crisis. 

> Social service directory. <strong>Orozco</strong> will send 

representatives to work with the Family Task Force of 

the Pilsen Planning Committee and the alderman’s 

office to compile a directory of family services for Pilsen. 

In addition to social services, the directory would 

include recreational programs offered through the park 

district, the Boys and Girls Club, and other agencies. 

> Social service awareness campaign. The social 

service directory will be distributed to all <strong>Orozco</strong> staff 

and parents. In addition, agencies will be invited to set 

up tables during our school open house to advertise 

their services. 

> <strong>School</strong> service coordinator. <strong>Orozco</strong> will hire a 

full-time coordinator to oversee after-school programs 

and to be the liaison between families and social service 

agencies, to act as a case manager once families are 

referred, to organize the new mentoring program and to 

expand tutoring. National-Louis sends college students 

to provide individual help in 8 th -grade classrooms. We 

would like to recruit two more universities to assist in 6 th 

and 7 th -grade classrooms. 


| 20

7 COMMUNITY AND PARENT INVOLVEMENT 

<strong>Orozco</strong> dedicates a full-time position to parent and 

community involvement. Our <strong>School</strong>-Home Coordinator is 

a community resident and former <strong>Orozco</strong> parent with a 

master’s degree in guidance counseling. She organizes 

parent committees, classes and workshops and serves as 

a liaison between parents and neighborhood agencies. 

Here are a few of our efforts to involve parents at <strong>Orozco</strong>: 

> Workshops to support learning. Pilsen Education 

Network Padres Educando Los Niños (Parents Teaching 

their Children) is a two-and-a-half hour workshop held 

twice weekly that helps parents support their children’s 

learning, with a special focus on major projects such as 

the history fair and science fair. Nearly 100 parents 

participated this year. 

> Family Reading Nights. To encourage students’ 

interest in reading, parents are invited to participate with 

their children in literacy-related activities at the school. 

> Community organizing. <strong>Orozco</strong> parents join with 

neighborhood agencies to organize on issues of interest 

to them. For example, parents wrote letters in support 

of a child care center proposed by The Resurrection 

Project and lobbied with Pilsen Neighbors Community 

Council for education funding reform in Illinois. TRP and 

Pilsen Neighbors will continue to work with parents to 

challenge them to participate in civic matters at the 

local, state and national levels. 

> Classroom volunteers. Ten to 15 parents each year 

volunteer to assist in our classrooms. 

> Other workshops. <strong>Orozco</strong> will continue to partner 

with neighborhood agencies and will work with the 

Pilsen Planning Committee to strengthen its 

programming. For example, Mujeres Latinas en Acción 

will hold some of its domestic violence and leadership 

workshops at <strong>Orozco</strong> for parents and students. 

21 | 

BUILDING ON SUCCESS

For more information, 

contact: 

Coralia Barraza 

Principal 

<strong>Orozco</strong> Elementary <strong>School</strong> 

1940 W. 18 th St. 


773-534-7215 

cbarraza@cps.k12.il.us 

Luis Bermudez 

ISS Manager 

The Resurrection Project (TRP) 

1818 S. Paulina Ave. 


312-666-1323 

lbermudez@resurrectionproject.org 

Chris Brown 

Director, Education Programs 


1 N. LaSalle St., 12th Floor 


312-385-4803 

cbrown@lisc.org

Orozco School: Building on Success - LISC Chicago

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